


CAFE AU

by HENRAthaeverloving



Category: Green Lantern: The Animated Series
Genre: ATLTNZ, Café, Multi, delicious pie, everyone is a POC except hal, rcs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-05-25 04:30:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6180250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HENRAthaeverloving/pseuds/HENRAthaeverloving
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bittersweet romp with a regular chai soya latte to go</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the block is hot (for pie)

**Author's Note:**

> happy reading ya filthy animals ;D

Another order for the key lime pie.

Yet another long evening of prepping- a sweet one nonetheless, the afterthought came to Aya as she packed away a slice into a box to go with a regular serving of lemon sweet tea. Thinking about how popular the pie had become she wondered if she was being too hasty in going forward with her Phd she sighed dismissively there was time and worst comes to worse she could ask to take the doctorate part-time or just have another gap year. Glancing over at her dads- Hal and Kilowog, having a ball placing and putting orders together her heart sank at the little time she would have for them once she started her research.

“Feeling nervous?” It wasn't so much the heartiness of Kilowog's gruff voice that made her alert

she looked up quizzically, “is something supposed to happen today?”

“So you did forget about the interview” she could hear the grin in Hal's voice before she even turned to him

“interview?” she gulped

“the one by the dessert mook 'Nice Ice Cream Boat'?” Hal held up a thick magazine with its cover being a colour palette aping a strawberry shortcake

Aya groaned and pressed her palm against her forehead “cripes! It's for their guest journalist section right? I completely forgot! I haven't even prepared any answers or notes”

Kilowog pulled her into a hug, “there's no need for that, the most important thing is to relax and answer from the heart”

“but you may have to barter a price if they start asking that question” Hal chimed in

the twopence worth earning a side-eye from Kilowog, “always have to dampen the moment with one of your jokes”

“you like them and so does Aya but she isn't as good at hiding the love like yours truly” Hal pointed at Aya trying to stifle her giggle, “see? Not so shaken up are you? He gently ruffled her hair.

She gave the pair a hug, “I'm really going to miss you two”

there was a wistful hint in Hal's sigh, “there's a good while until the course begins so let's carry on putting together some memories to go”

Kilowog helped Aya out of her apron, “starting with your pie getting the kudos it deserves”

Aya hesitated, “what about the samples-”

“already taken care of” Hal gave her a thumbs up

“just get yourself cleaned up” Kilowog shooed her from behind the counter, the pair glancing at their daughter scurrying off before returning to the flow of their cafe.

*

With the smorgasbord of matcha castella slices; a slice of her key lime pie; rose macarons- Kilowog's forte and Hal's take on the classic sweet tea Aya realised that she was completely new to this.

Could she eat the samples too? Was she meant to just sit there and wait for the questions? She began to wonder what Hal would do- he was usually responsible for handling interviews, he probably would've made a bee-line for the pie but that was being made quick work of by the interviewer so she helped herself to a glass of sweet tea and a macaron.

She glanced down at the unabashedly cute business card given to her by the guest journalist there was a URL under the name Gia Tabby which she soon recognised as that blog displaying gifs of desserts and sweets spinning around.

Gia took a slice of the castella “that key lime pie was something else, it's amazing to think that you hardly baked at all”

Aya sipped some tea, “I was eyebrows deep in academia so I was lucky if I could make some time to bake up a batch of cookies and I'll be honest in saying that I was at a loss when I was asked to come up with an item for the spring summer menu”

Gia leant forward “does this make the pie a fluke?”

Aya leant back thoughtfully “not exactly, this is a recipe I learnt when I was really young but the last time I can remember making this was during the first year of my bachelor degree”

Gia raised her eyebrows “after all these years? Is there a key ingredient or a process that guarantees such a flawless result?”

Aya raised her glass “that's a secret”.

*

“As you can see the interview and samples went down a treat” Aya brought in the tea trolley of the empty plates, cutlery along with the small pitcher and glass.

“Good, you seem a lot more chilled out than before” Hal placed a slice of pie onto a plate  
which he passed to Kilowog who was finishing up an espresso “you sure you don't want us to stay and help you out later with prepping for tomorrow?”

Aya put on her apron “as long as I have my playlist, I'll be fine”

Kilowog passed her the slice of pie and the little cup of perk, “for the table by the window”

she caught sight of the table where a man skulked in his seat; the pinstripe suit and corporate man bun made him stand out in the comfy cafe she did a double take on the order and wondered who could enjoy this key lime pie with something as bitter as an espresso?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GET GET GET GET GOT GOT GOT GOT

Get got (by pie)  
The number of suits that frequented this café was rare but they were all the same: dour and boasting a vernacular array of three syllables and sometimes five.  
Razer barely noticed his order had arrived as he was too busy glaring at the black skyscraper in the distance; it was the headquarters of Red Lantern Confectionery where he was project manager with a few of the company's successful products to boast about. Just an hour ago Shard Tower became nothing more than a potent reminder of his catastrophic proposal. The idea of branching out into desserts was met unanimously with champagne fuelled derision from the board, the CEO didn't even bother to look at him or anyone else as he stood in front of the window orating that after six months Razer must present this idea once more along with a sample for a second observation although it may as well be an excuse for another laugh at his expense.  
  
All of this was making him really thirsty so he hoped his order was here or else some unfortunate bumbler was going to get yelled at. Looking up he caught a glimpse of a woman walking away from his table and by the time he looked down at the small cup and saucer the boiling rage simmered down into surprise at the slice of dessert- he ordered this?  
There was clearly mascarpone cheese so was this cheesecake? or a cheesecake pie hybrid? An oddity but far less harmful than the idea of a cronut.  
He decided to hold off on the espresso if this cheesecake pie he bought on a whim turned out to be as bad as his morning at least the cup of ink would provide some respite- if not bitter, skewering a piece of the dessert with his fork the filling wasn't so thick as he imagined. Upon tasting it however he became stock still from the assault of textures and taste. The pie crust was in fact a biscuit base but with a softness as though it was fresh from an oven and he exhaled in blissful surrender to the firm cool creaminess melting his mouth and his trousers bunching up.  
  
Huh?  
  
Razer felt the room spin as a simple moment of moping was jeopardised by the reality that he was getting an erection from a dessert- this was certainly the pinnacle of his nadir, he knocked back the rest of the espresso which was now cold. He needed to go home, have a cold shower and sleep. Gathering everything into a pile with the intention to leave the money and bounce, he found himself in front of the counter manned by what he deemed a meat-head- a rather grim one with a heart-shaped badge reading Kilowog.  
Looking at the man, Razer felt rather exposed under his unwavering frown despite his defence being a longer suit jacket and his shades- which he put on, suddenly he caught the tail end of a question from a stern voice mentioning pie.  
"Pie?" Razer parroted  
"did you enjoy the key-lime pie?" Inquired Kilowog.  
Not a cheesecake, not even a hybrid of a pie and a cheesecake but a key lime pie he could feel himself become rigid again upon reminiscing the taste, the texture all of it being so irresistible that he was close to stewing in his own lust when something dawned on him, "did you make the key-lime pie?"  
Kilowog pointed to the rose garnished tower of pink macarons, "I made these"  
"that's nice" Razer was flicking through the notes in his wallet wondering how much he would need to tip for some inquiries about the recipe and just as he decided to start with ￡30 he caught a flash of green from the corner of his eye followed by a voice  
"dad, pop wants to know if you need anything from the grocers"  
Kilowog rolled his eyes "didn't I give him a list?"  
The woman beside razer shrugged "I don't remember seeing him with a list"  
Kilowog sighed "typical of him, has he left yet?" she shook her head "take care of the fort, greens while I handle your scatterbrained pop" he ruffled her hair and left the counter.  
During all of this Razer was taking in her profile when she scurried behind the counter to face him, her badge in full display as his eyes roved over the name: Aya.  
"How was my pie? Was it nice with the espresso?" She beamed eagerly  
Razer nodded slowly; of course this small woman would be responsible for making the pie her nails were painted green so was her hair and her lips. The gloss she had used reminded him less of a key lime pie and more of the saucy finishing of a sticky toffee pudding.  
"Are you okay sir?" Kilowog narrowed his eyes at Razer as Aya looked on with a concerned frown.  
  
*  
  
Razer gunned it down the street in his Aventador halting at a red light. His head slumped on the wheel briefly as he mulled over how strange this day was turning out to be, he sat up and glanced aside to the passenger seat at the mook on top of the box containing an order of macarons and a slice of key lime pie. The light went green and he gently steered the car homeward. As awkward as he made himself at that café he was determined that today wouldn't be the last they- especially Aya, would see of him.


	3. Tangueray in the cup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am a snug bug

D'Angelo's 'Brown Sugar' lulled softly from the hi-fi system reminding Razer of her- Aya, yes he could definitely pinpoint the brown sugar used in the crust but it was the only absolute he could make of this key-lime pie. He took a sip of tangeuray, letting the clear liquid slosh as he swirled the short glass he held and frowned.

He smoked the last of his joint to ease the creeping frustration- there would be more of that later, for now this was a time of celebration. On eating the slice of pie earlier it soon dawned on him that his chance had come a lot sooner than he thought; this could convince the board to think twice about his proposal and all he needed to do was replicate the recipe.

But how? He certainly didn't feel confident about his skill of deduction if it took eating the slice twice to simply pinpoint one ingredient. He had six months to present his proposal again, which brought a sigh of relief from Razer; once again he would embark on the long, scenic route of seduction he would have plenty of time to get the recipe and even a slice or two of the lovely baker- it would be the sweetest of his conquests. Pouring himself more tangueray he noted with a foxy smirk that the song playing now was 'When We Get By'- an apt title for this moment, “here's to getting by” he toasted before knocking back the gin.

*

Aya tensed herself for a sneeze that never happened, she finished zesting the fifth lime and scooped the heap into a jar. She cut the bare lime in half and squeezed the juice of the pair into a bowl and with a funnel she poured it into an empty milk bottle to put in the fridge for later. In another bowl she sifted her dry ingredients together adding the wet ones and the lime zest to mix for the biscuits. She thought back on the warm memories she would spend with their former neighbour Mr. Walker; be it ventures to the petting zoo or the beach for picnics or their indoor escapades of playing videogames and especially baking. It still felt odd to claim this recipe as hers even with the popularity of this dessert that got her the interview today there was still a small yearn for her to be baking and dancing to this record with him together.

She noticed the low slung bass groove of Material's 'Ciguri' was demanding a certain movement from her hips matching her saucy smile as she thought _this is going to be a sexy pie crust_.  She paused; the thought made her grimace, she never baked with that sort of intent before, she looked to her left and saw an espresso cup filled with a tipple of tangueray- well that wasn't her usual receptacle for her cheeky drinks. The espresso cups had a moss green colour which usually called to mind an air of warmth but now she felt a rush- a hot one, at how dwarfed it felt by the imposing hues of red and black from that customer. Reigning in the thoughts by patting her cheeks, she noticed that the playlist was now playing 'Grooveline' by Heatwave- this was a song she could get down to, knocking back the gin she started with a two-step before getting down and funky as she baked away in ignorant bliss.


	4. The Regular

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUNS GUNS GUNS GUNS GUNS GUNS GUNS

“Jordan”  
  
“I know, Kilowog”  
  
“He's been here for a week now”  
  
“must like the pie a lot”  
  
“I don't think that's the only thing on his mind”  
  
Hal looked at Kilowog, “you mean this is the customer you were talking about?”  
  
Kilowog locked on to the man sitting low in the seat by the window clad in a dark ensemble of shades, jogging pants, baseball cap and a sleeveless hoodie.  
  
Hal looked on with a heavy sigh “it's the cheekbones, no one is safe from them”  
  
Kilowog huffed “way to be fatalistic”  
  
“I'd like to think you caught the guy at a peak moment of food orgasm” Hal nudged Kilowog “I mean it's how we met” he laughed off the shove from Kilowog; long gone were the days of Aya being the little girl they preened after and ferried to and from school and wherever, besides it wouldn't be good to have two worried parents so he gladly let his partner take the role of concerned parent while he was content to play his part as the chill one.But he was soon glazed by doubt as he watched the man bring his shades low as Aya walked past him, he patted Kilowog's shoulder “he'll be back soon”  
  
Kilowog raised his eyebrow “wasn't that the reason we took _him_ to the vet?”  
  
“well the cat needed to be neutered anyway” Hal plated a crème caramel “but whether he retains his fighting spirit I guess the proof is going to have to be in the pudding” he handed it to Kilowog “table by the bookcase”.  
  
*  
  
This was not working for Razer, he snatched off his shades and pondered at how he convinced himself that the cool and aloof act was a good idea, she was fluttering about the cafe dealing with one parched and hungry soul after another rendering his strategy of wearing the sleeveless Palace hoodie pointless as she was too busy to notice the guns he was flaunting. Well he hadn't made an order yet, so he sat up and started to flip through the pages of the new issue of the dessert mook he had picked up earlier- Nice Cream Boat was certainly an odd title.

Pages and pages of dessert macros and recipes later he came upon an interview of Aya regarding the key lime pie.

“you bought the issue?”

He immediately looked up soon having to narrow his gaze at her umber radiance since she was standing under the light, he recovered himself by putting his shades back on “it's certainly a dessert worth writing about” she turned her gaze away as her chin dipped- good.

She watched her reflection in the dark shades he wore, “would you like something to drink with your reading material or eat even?”

“just the usual” he mopped his mouth with a napkin, he hadn't realised that she had left soon after as he was utterly focused on driving out the intrusive thoughts manifesting as drool. As soon he recovered himself, he began to pore through the interview- a moment later removing his shades. The interview wasn't so long but the information was valuable; the content confirming that she was yet another cloistered maiden living a lifestyle of abstinence on some whim of agency, another validation for him that this would be a conquest requiring the utmost charm, cunning and above all coolness.

“Here's your order of espresso and a slice of key lime pie” she placed the order in front of him, scanning the café before taking a seat in the chair facing him “so what did you think of it?”

He glanced at the two men behind the counter chortling away on their coffee break before leaning back “you certainly seemed to carry yourself well by your answers” he brought the espresso to his nose for a whiff “but I assume that you must be finding this experience to be very virginal” bringing the cup down to his lips for a feathery sip- making sure he held it to show off the guns.

She kept her focus on him as she stroked her neck “to be honest I'm more surprised that this dessert has managed to draw in people from Goose Tongue Lane well just you actually” she suddenly became flustered “I mean that's if you're from those ends”

 _I came here on a rage-induced whim_ was the truth but instead he set the cup down onto the saucer. “you guessed right” he picked up the fork and began to eat the dessert- artfully, his movements maximised for optimum flexing, “was it the shades?”

She guffawed “actually I always associate those with shady places like Ogre Street”.

The remark made him chuckle, the mirth seemed to mix into the flavour of the dessert in turn making his heart flutter- which Aya should have been experiencing not him. Composing himself he mustered his best game-face as he steered the conversation back to the interview or at least the photos “there are a lot of nice photos of you” he glanced down to find only two photos of her out of the rest being various items from the menu, he added hurriedly “well the photos of you are nice and I like them a lot”.

She smiled bashfully “thank you” there was a moment pause before she stated warmly “you know I have a feeling I'll see you a lot more” she stood up as the door chime heralded more customers “do you have a name?”

He looked into the smoky pools of her eyes as he answered “Razer”.

She fished out her notepad and mechanical pencil from the pockets of the overalls she was wearing, “Razer” she repeated “that sounds nice, at least I won't have to tag your to-go order as GTL” she walked away to carry on with her equilibrium and for him to distract himself-with espresso, from the peace he felt from her saying his name.

 


	5. i pull up to the curb when i'm in that lambo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw there's an official mood blog hit it up: www.cafeautheblog.tumblr.com  
> shout out to .net//DREAM

So far this break seemed to be anything but relaxing what with the interior battle between the spine-chilling reminders to make a start on the PHD and the wriggling warmth in her stomach whenever Razer would show up at the cafe. She wasn't sure how much longer she could shoo off whatever sensation his presence was stoking inside of her, especially after that ridiculous stunt he pulled off with the sleeveless hoodie. She shook her head; it wasn't going to be constructive to dwell on these feelings they were only going to weigh down the current labour of visiting the vet and there was a lot of weight already from the regret of not taking Kilowog's van. Looking at the cardboard cat carrier she reasoned with herself- for the fourth time, that a good leg of this journey was going to be spent on the bus plus she wasn't very far from the bus stop. The only thought she gave to the journey back to the cafe with a cat-occupied carrier in tow was that she was going to take up Hal's suggestion of an early clock-out.

Thinking about the possibilities that entails from an early clock-out she pressed on with such a renewed ease that she didn't notice the sleek red aventador that pulled up beside her until she was startled by its brusque horn.

 

 _Not today_ she growled inwardly, whoever this driver was they were going to have the honour of being the third ear chewed out this month and no vehicle- pricey or not, was going to protect this scrub from her wrath

“keep driving, I have nothing to say” she kissed her teeth at the tinted windows “don't you think you're in the wrong ends for that kind of stuff?” She stepped back as the suicide doors came up, an awkward wave washed over her as the driver turned out to be none other than Razer “you again?” she cringed “tell me you did not just hear that?”

He perched his sunglasses on top of his head “this is a very different side to you”

She set down the carrier and placed her hands on her hips as he approached her; that show-boating of his guns made her woke to his slickness although she was in between a rock and a hard place with deciding what would emit less butterflies in her stomach: his face or his strange choice of wardrobe- a sheer shirt. She summoned whatever resistance she could muster into her smug smirk as she asked “how different?”

 

With his finger on his lips he gave her a pensive smile “at the cafe you come off as a really sweet person” his smile became a foxy leer “but it looks like you're just as nice as when you're salty” his finger started to disappear into his lips letting it sink up to his knuckle before withdrawing it out with a kiss and a sigh.

 

_Oh you silly man_ Aya thought loftily  she wasn't dubbed the 'Nitro-nun' at uni for nothing “ you should be careful what you say you might end up with too much salt” she winked at him “that can't be good for you at all” if she were being honest the frost had definitely seen better days as she  just realised that she left her ocean jasper pendant at home.

 

H e leaned on his car “maybe so but you know what they say about salt and meat”. 

 

Silence gushed in with a tension thick enough to rival a risotto  soon  but as that was acknowledged the pair burst into laughter.

 

“I never thought I would hear that fairy tale used in flirting” she guffawed

 

“I know cap-o'-rushes is just pure gold” he chuckled 

 

their laughter died down with a sigh letting another silence glide through.

 

He noticed the cat carrier and cleared his throat “are you going to the vet?”

 

she followed his gaze “it's for my dads, both of them are unable to pick up their cat so I'm going instead”

 

he motioned to his car “would you like me to give you a lift?”

 

she picked up the cat carrier “don't worry I'm not really far from the bus stop”

 

he looked as though as he was going to persist but instead asked “will you be at the cafe after two?”

“maybe?”

 

“maybe I'll slide through for the usual” the doors oozed shut as he got into the car.

 

Aya did a double-take of the car and the cat carrier and knew that she was certainly going to be pissing away a chance to reach her goal sooner. She scurried over to the driver's side and tapped on the window “actually I'll take you up on that offer, if it's still open that is” the suicide door came up on the passenger's side.

 

*

 

“I can't help but point out that you're sniffing a lot, are you okay?” Razer threw a quick but wary glance at Aya.

 

“Sorry it's just this thing I have with cars and smells” there was silence “whenever I get into a someone's car there's this air that feels so nice and fresh on the nostrils when I breathe in” she noticed that the car wasn't moving which was because they were at a red light and looking aside she saw that Razer was staring at her. Her cheeks ached hard as he burst into laughter “what is so funny about that?” She crossed her arms with a harrumph.

 

“Please don't take offence but that is a really adorable statement” he flashed a smile at her before putting his focus back on the road as the lights turned green.

 

With gritted teeth she tried to massage away the heat in her cheeks “haven't you experienced a feeling like that?”

 

“I haven't experienced a feeling like that for a long while” he chuckled

 

“What do you feel now?” she asked

 

_Go off JP_ was the smooth inward  command as he effortlessly switched on the hi-fi system and pressed the button for the sixth CD; psyching himself up for the opening verse of Jay Park's 'Up in this B*tch' to set the mood for his play but he may as well deflated as he was greeted instead with 'angel.wav' by  スプレー spray. 

 

His hand was about to fly towards another button to change the music when she asked “isn't this from a mix on soundcloud?  I really like this track ”

 

He gulped down whatever anxiety was brewing from his blunder “the mix was put together by a collective they also did a limited release on CD” she hadn't said anything making him clutch the wheel for dear life; was she collecting receipts? Was there something on his face? Even worse could she-

 

“you didn't answer my question”

 

“Of course” he answered with eager relief he gave himself a moment to gather his cool and try to remember what she had asked him in the first place

 

“what do you feel now?” She gave him an expectant smirk.

 

T hat was definitely an odd question; what were his feelings like these days? If he could tell her would she run off with fear? Hatred?  If he were someone else he would've considered himself flummoxed but he  was an opportunist and he was going to turn this situation to his favour. With one hand on the wheel he effortlessly brought down the sunglasses that were resting on his head, “do you want to know?” There was silence from her- probably whelmed, poor dear.

 

“Razer?”

 

Out of his conquests, hers was the sweetest mouth his name spilled out of and was positive that it was going to sound better oozing out of her mouth instead.

 

“Razer? You're going to miss the turning to the vet”

 


	6. Razer vs. Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Kenzo Uji and his voice actor Wataru Arai  
> your bars are sick bruv.

"Thanks for the lift and the company too" Aya spoke in a soft hush  
  
"I'm not in a hurry" he replied in an equally hushed voice and frowned soon after as he didn't see what use it was to talk softly while the pets had no problem vocalising their impending doom.  
  
"Speedwagon Bolovax-Jordan"  
  
Aya shot out of her seat to greet the veterinarian, she hurried back to her seat to grab the cat carrier and followed them into the office where the door closed softly behind her.  
  
Razer sat back in his seat and pondered, this time the fancy was why his heart felt as though it were being licked by a cat? Was it a feeling that had festered since the fateful spoonful of that pie? No, he hoped that wasn't the case. It was easier for him to think of this feeling as something intuitive rather than a sign that he was losing his edge. Even if this was something of an intuition, what could be so bad about picking up a cat from the vet?  
  
Suddenly Aya reappeared shaking the hand of the veterinarian as they passed the cat carrier back to her. After a final flurry of thanks and goodbyes she returned to her seat and propped the carrier on her lap- it resembled a house with a window cutout that she was speaking into,

"did you miss us? Because we all missed you" a paw stuck out of the window emitting a squeal of joy from her

but for Razer an inward pained groan as his heart swelled at the sight of her being so-

"cute! You are so adorable Speedwagon" Aya rubbed the paw pad lovingly but came to a sheepish halt when she realised that she wasn't alone, "I'm sorry I should probably get going, I'm sure you have other stuff to do" on cue the paw snaked back into the window as she stood up.

Razer held her hand and took the carrier away from her to set it down to next to him "don't worry, I'm giving you a lift back to the cafe"  
  
Aya took her hand away from him and returned the carrier back to her side “I thought I was just getting a lift to the vet"  
  
he gave her shoulder a brief squeeze without taking his eyes off hers "I don't do anything half-arsed"  
  
"thank you" was her answer.  
  
He smiled at the cat carrier's quaint design "besides I like cats too"  
  
Aya blinked "you do?"

Razer gave her a slither of a woman-killing smile "I like smelling kittens" he added "well just the back of their necks"

Aya's hands bunched up into joyful fists as she exclaimed softly "me too! I couldn't stop smelling Speedwagon's when he was a kitten".  
  
Now there was silence between the pair, Razer touched Aya's shoulder to get her attention, "are you ready to go?" She nodded and picked up the cat-occupied carrier but he closed his hand over hers "want me to hold the carrier?"  
  
Aya mused over the offer then she gave him the carrier "thank you"  
  
he picked up the carrier and held it up so his face was in front of the window "hello Wagon-speed"  
  
Aya started to look worried "Razer?" He looked at her "first of all I don't think you should do that and secondly"

he never understood the sudden pause followed by the look of horror on her face and he didn't even see the clawed paw sticking out of the window  
*********  
Razer glanced at his reflection, specifically the plaster on his cheek; a childish design of butter-hue clouds against a soft mint sky didn't evoke any idea whatsoever that he had narrowly avoided a mutilation.  
  
"I'm so sorry" she sighed pouting at the plump tabby she held before looking back at Razer, "I was so happy seeing him again I completely forgot that he's not very good with people" she frowned thoughtfully "well just some people, everyone seems to say it's his personality” she held the cat to her face “but I don't think that's the case maybe you're just spoilt rotten from your cat pop-pops giving you so much leeway” she pressed the cat's nose “are you a spoilt little boy Speedy?” she gathered herself as she lowered the cat from her face “look at me, gushing over a cat whilst said cat scratched you”  
  
Razer inched closer to her, “it's fine” he gave the cat's neck a sniff before stroking its head “I'm sure Bandwagon will warm up to me eventually" he had no time to catch the paws.  
  
*******  
It had now been a week and Razer's usual spot was now a perch for the plump scowling tabby known as Speed-boat, Stage-coach or whatever, he looked at his fingers now covered in more of the quaint plasters- this time the images were of fruits, he did a double-take of the cat and his hand; was he going to let himself be affected by one isolated incident involving this cat? Would he allow himself to jeopardise all of his progress (however scant) because of a cat?  
_Absolutely not_ thought Razer, his hands hovered over the cat and slowly descended to grab the cat, he was no stranger to cats he reminded himself as his hands got closer he couldn't help but notice that the cat's scowl seemed to have deepened if that was possible for a feline in the first place.

"Hey Wagon-wheel, you're in my seat" was the last thing he said before the cat's drab scowl pulled into a snarling hiss, “you know what? Keep it” he sat on one of the stalls facing outside soon becoming concerned at how many people were stopping to look into the window particularly what looked to be a gaggle of hype-beasts who had started to inspect their swag,

“it's a two-way mirror”

Aya's voice startled him but he wasn't going to let her on to that and so he played it off with a subtle inhaling and exhaling of breath as he replied “two-way mirrors is certainly something I don't see much in these ends”

“my pop never liked the idea of being watched while eating but dad didn't really mind so in the end they both agreed on doing this instead” there was a pause before she smiled “I just want to say again thank you for what you did last week, I managed to get so much done once I got back”  
  
“such as?” He waggled his eyebrows  
  
Out of complete ignorance for his nuance she answered “managing to do some semblance of research for starters”  
  
Razer moved his head to an intrigued tilt “research for?”  
  
Aya shrugged “My PHD”  
  
Razer leaned towards her “about?”

Aya frowned in thought “I'm not sure if I want to focus my PHD on grass roots green technology or alternative computer designs for the mass market”  
  
Razer rested his chin on his hands"so you're going to do research for both of them?”  
  
A dorky glimmer graced her eyes “I'm lucky to own quite a bit of reading materials relevant to both of the ideas, so now those books are just covered in sticky notes”  
  
“that's really impressive” he had said that more in how much of a formidable challenge she was making herself out to be, in turn adding the nitro to his drive to pull the carpet from beneath her and have her fall into his arms.  
  
“By the way it's the usual right?”

Something happened in that moment where he could only answer her question with a silent nod unable to speak as though something was in his throat. As she left, he started to wonder what happened? Why did his voice act up like that? The sensation seemed to worsen as something brushed his leg, he looked down and the sensation became unbearable. The only thing stopping him from making his way to the complimentary free water was the unmistakably bored glare of that cat: Boost-coach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out the moodboard blog   
> http://cafeautheblog.tumblr.com/


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